1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to a candle wick trimmer, and more particularly to a wick trimmer adapted to gauge the length of a wick prior to cutting.
2. Description of the Related Art
Various devices for trimming wicks have been invented since the advent of the candle making industry. New candles are often sold with wicks which are longer than they should be for optimum safety. Additionally, from time to time as a result of burning, a candle wick may become too long or an excessively long burnt carbonized portion may remain attached to the protruding wick. A failure to trim a new wick and to subsequently trim wicks after use can create a fire hazard. Therefore it is desirable to keep the wicks of candles at an appropriate length.
It is desirable to trim a wick so that it is neither too long nor trimmed too close to the wax. If a wick is too short, the wax surrounding the wick will melt and may extinguish the flame. If the wick of a pillar candle is permitted to become too long, the flame will enlarge and generate more heat which can be a fire hazard to any nearby combustible objects. Because some pillar candles burn away a central portion of wax but leave tall sidewalls, the excess heat can melt a hole through the wax sidewall causing a sudden runoff of the molten wax pool. This runoff permits the wick to suddenly protrude even farther above the remaining wax pool and thereby produce an even hotter flame which can be a hazard to any nearby combustible materials.
A further problem with an excessively long wick occurs because the end of a long wick will not receive molten wax and therefore the wick itself burns. These carbonized wick pieces if on a taper candle can drop off onto the surface on which the candle rests and cause burn marks or a fire. With a container candle the carbonized pieces can drop into the molten wax within the candle, creating a hazardous secondary wick. When the candle burns near the bottom, the secondary wicks can eventually cause an explosion because the extra heat raises the wax temperature to cause an abundance of combustible wax vapors.
Trimming a candle wick removes any excess existing carbonized or unburnt wick and decreases the likelihood that the wick will become too long or form an excessive carbonized portion during its next burning interval.
A number of wick trimmers have been developed over the years. Many focus on the problem of easily collecting the waste wick which the trimmer removes. These include U.S. Pat. Nos. 18,713; 36,590; 169,091; 169,785; 223,027; and 356,319. Other wick trimmers have focused on the shape of the wick after cutting. These include U.S. Pat. Nos. 211,209; 622,510; and 920,822. The patent to Scott, U.S. Pat. No. 452,289 focuses on cleaning the trimmer cutting surfaces rather than on the trimming itself.
Some patents have, however, focused to a certain extent on determining the length of a wick. The patent to Warner, U.S. Pat. No. 80,577 discloses a tube which slides over the wick tube of a lamp whose wick needs to be cut. However, the purpose of the Warner wick trimmer is to protect the wick tube, rather than to determine the length of the wick. The patent to Jenkins, U.S. Pat. No. 97,776 discloses a similar type of invention for use with a lamp and wick tube, but which is designed to be permanently mounted to the lamp. None of these devices mentioned above incorporates a gauge which determines the length of a wick to be cut.
The patent to Dorazio, U.S. Pat. No. 2,835,032 discloses a tool for cutting electronic circuit components to equal lengths. In Dorazio, a bracket is employed as a stop mechanism through which a strand would pass to the cutting implement. The bracket is adjustable. However, the size and shape of the cutter disclosed in Dorazio would not be suitable for trimming a candle wick especially if the wick is down inside a surrounding object, such as a container wall or wax sidewalls left on a pillar candle.
Another problem is that many candles are not used in locations where they are exposed on all sides. The use of candles with a "hurricane" cover has become quite popular over the past several years. In addition many people use shorter candles, such as votives, in shielded containers accessible only from the top. It is therefore desirable to have a wick trimmer which can fit inside the container to reach the candle already in place rather than removing the candle to cut the wick. The prior patents and current market do not have any wick trimmers which would be acceptable for such uses.